T5: CCTV footage shifts blame away from contractors

British Airways has been unable to shift blame onto the builders for the opening week fiasco at Heathrow's T5 because of the elaborate CCTV system in place.

Airline bosses and airport operator BAA were hauled before the Commons Transport Committee last week to explain the disastrous opening that saw 500 flights cancelled and 23,000 bags go missing.

BA has shouldered the majority of blame for failing to properly train its baggage handling staff. But airline bosses attempted to shift the focus onto BAA and alleged delays in construction.

Experts involved in the £4.3bn construction programme believe BA was forced to admit its mistakes because of the complex camera system in operation. One source told CJ: "T5 has got the biggest digital cctv network on the planet and everything is on camera.

"I'm sure BA would have tried to deflect more of the blame if it could but all of the evidence is on camera.

"The tapes can also be used in evidence if any legal action follows this. BA didn't train its staff properly and the handlers were not in place in time.

"All the contractors can do is hand the building over to the client - after that it's up to them. It was very frustrating because the baggage handling system is state of the art and now works perfectly.

"It was a temporary problem caused by lack of training," said the source.

BA chief executive Willie Walsh told the committee: "My regret is we did compromise on our testing programme."

During the hearing BAA also admitted that 28 of the 275 lifts were not working on opening day and 17 of those are still out of action.